Family Court threatens imprisonment

Family Court takes the Compliance of Orders seriously

On January 10, 2006, following their divorce, Mr Rand + Mrs Rand were given specific orders by the Family Court pertaining to the settlement of their property.  On June 25th, 2007 Mr Rand was found guilty of Contempt of Orders and was to “be imprisoned until discharged by order of the Family Court of Australia” …. potentially  for the term of his natural life!

Mr Rand appealed the conviction and the sentence was stayed providing that he entered into a bond and didn’t travel outside Sydney.

Three years later on the April 20, 2010, Mr Rand’s appeal was presented to the Full Court of the Family Court. Finally, on the 3rd of September 2010, judgement was delivered in favour of Mr Rand ensuring that the convictions for Contempt of Orders were overturned.

Interestingly, the reason that the conviction was overturned was that the Full Court found that the original order given on January 6th, 2006 was not sufficiently clear and was therefore too ambiguous to find a breach by way of contempt of the Order.

Whilst we agree that the current judgement rights a wrong, Mr Rand will not receive any compensation for the limitations placed upon his liberty for the past 3 years and to this extent, the delay has prejudiced his personal and financial interests.

This is a strong reminder the Family Court takes Compliance with Orders in relation to children and property extremely seriously.

Written by Mark Streeter

The Director of Streeterlaw, Mark has been practicing Law since 1994. He has attained his Masters of Law in 1999 and in 2006 was awarded his Specialist Accreditation in Commercial Litigation. Mark is a member of ARITA, a graduate of the AICD and a member of AICM. A member of STEP, Mark enjoys working in the area of Wills and Estates. In 2020 Mark is the Chair of STEP NSW.

Call us on 02 8197 0105 to book an appointment with Mark Streeter!